Will The Verdict In The George Floyd Murder Trial Be Right This Time?

Is America finally ready to face the truth?

The Facebook post shocked me.

My friend declared in his post, “I don’t think this guy is going to be convicted of anything. I have zero confidence in this justice system!”

His view had much support too.

Problem is, rather than being pessimistic or even melodramatic, he was just being real.

We’ve all seen this movie before. Too many times before.

Cold, hard fact: white cops do not get convicted for the crimes they commit against black people.

And it’s not for lack of evidence. From Rodney King to Breonna Taylor, and unfortunately hundreds all over the country, juries and prosecutors have found it reasonable to conclude that the injury or killing of a black man or woman by a white cop was legal.

That’s just the way it is in America.

Some white people unconsciously believe they are entitled to hold power over blacks. Even to decide who lives or dies. As if blacks are just their property and not real people.

Weren’t black men counted as 3/5’s human in past censuses? And when the founding fathers wrote in the Constitution “All men are created equal”, did that “all men” include black men?

So, in the history of trials when whites have killed blacks, it has been overwhelmingly decided that the killings were justified. Video evidence be damned.

Thus, blacks have more than a reasonable doubt that this trial will be any fairer. Some, like my friend, are convinced it will go wrong. Again.

Some claim Chauvin cannot get a fair trial. “Fair trial” for those defendants simply means the likelihood of being found not guilty. But those who make that claim are lying. And they know it.

The function of defense counsel in a murder trial is unnecessary to secure an acquittal of the defendant, to make him free of the charge. The defense attorney is in that courtroom to protect the constitutional rights of the accused.

The defense attorney must ensure that this client’s conviction is proper. Based on solid evidence that proves the case beyond all reasonable doubt. Now, what makes up “reasonable doubt” has, through the years, become as fluid and as variable as people have been willing to embrace.

Reasonable doubt should be a shield to protect the innocent. But clever lawyers have used it as a sword to guilt jurors into playing it safe and release guilty parties. The myth is better to release 1000 guilty than to wrongly convict one innocent.

Except that judges and juries alike are 1000 times more likely to convict a black man, (and give him a longer prison sentence) for the same crime, than they would a white person. Some justice!

So when a black man says “That’s just the way it is in America”, he references a vastly different (and more dangerous) perspective from his white counterpart.

And many political leaders in the US today — who are mostly old white men- are not willing to accept that that disparity exists. Then along comes Donald Trump, and he makes that immoral, inhumane, egregious position legitimate! “Good people on both sides,” he said about Nazis and white supremacist anti-Semites.

Under the Trump regime bigotry, racism and even hatred became celebrated, instead of being frowned upon and condemned.

Statistics show that rogue cops have been emboldened under Trump. Even the atmosphere and context of the current trial of the George Floyd murderer have not caused other police officers to hesitate to use deadly force against blacks. Even though they know fully that the encounter is being recorded.

On Sunday evening, April 11, 2021, Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old black man was fatally shot by a white police officer, about 10 miles from where the George Floyd murder trial is being held. One would think the police would think twice about pulling a gun on an unarmed black man in this environment. But No.

The old racist way of policing is still alive and still deadly. In Minneapolis, Minnesota. In West Virginia. And in the United States. In the year 2021.

The All-Important Question Today

What will be the atmosphere in that jury room?

• Will the jury return a verdict based on evidence? Or on some predetermined position?
• Will any of the jurors feel guilty for believing before the trial that Floyd was indeed murdered, and then try to compensate by voting “not guilty”?
• Will even one member of that jury buy the defense’s notion that George Floyd bore at least some responsibility for his own untimely death?
• Is there any person in that room who harbors the same sense of entitlement that Chauvin has, that made him continue to use deadly force against his arrested subject long, long after the force was required?

These are the considerations that have doubtlessly affected past verdicts. When evidence is this overwhelming, these are the human elements that this defense is hoping will influence the final decision without regard for the evidence.

The Big Difference With This Case

Some might wonder why bother with all this trial stuff when the video evidence is so clear. But we know that a rush to execution is just as unfair as a quick unjust acquittal. Everyone, including this accused, is entitled to due process. Everyone deserves their day in court.

One can’t help but wonder if the defense will bring enough “expert advice” to raise reasonable doubt? About cause of death, and such like? We have to wait and see.

There are some differences with this trial however that gives me cause to hope.

• First thing is, tons more conclusive evidence than normally seen. There is that famous video over 9 minutes long that has been seen the world over. That tape has been admitted as part of the evidence in this trial. As Will Smith said, “Racism is not getting worse, It is getting filmed!”
• The police have broken ranks with this former officer. They are not defending him like in previous cases. He does not have the protection of the proverbial blue wall. The police chief Medaria Arradondo and others have been unequivocal in their denouncement of Chauvin and his actions.
• All the experts agree — it’s not even a close call. George Floyd only died because the police illegally and improperly restrained him with his knee.
• The prosecution has attempted to make the victim in this case an actual human being. His life worth has been strongly underscored.

Have they done enough? Or have they gone too far and over-prosecuted this?

It Should Be Enough

The prosecution, by all accounts, has done an outstanding job of proving its case beyond a reasonable doubt. From all the testimony given, it has been firmly established that George Floyd died because of Chauvin’s knee on his neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds. Not from drugs or heart failure.

But black people in this country have been disappointed by the justice system so many times that it is reasonable to believe that this time will be no different. Some fear that even a proper conviction might ring a little hollow in the current environment.

If, as the evidence indicates, Chauvin was responsible for the death of George Floyd, then the just and proper verdict is guilty of all charges. Voting “not guilty” is neither legally nor morally correct. That is the duty the jury took an oath to perform.

Unfortunately, (especially considering what Donald Trump could get away with) white America has learned to do many evil that they think benefits their interest. These days America does evil to its own without shame.

Lady Justice is not blind. Just blindfolded.

Despite all the above nerve-wracking considerations, however… I still dare to believe that America will get it right. Even if only this once.